Whatever
by Kinz
Summary: Name change, sequel to Coming Home. Ginny has wanted to adopt a child since the loss of Laura. Well, now she has her chance. Fate strikes again, and guess who she adopts. Some is about Laura, some about Ginny. Oh, and there's a new Voldemorttype person ri
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. Whatsoever. I don't really wish I did, anyway; I'd get death treats from all the HP lovers.

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this took this long. The good news is, I've got another chapter written. The bad news is, that's pretty much all. I might be a long time between updates. I'm just warning you. I'm writing a couple other unposted stories, including one that I'm hoping to get published someday. And I'm slammed with homework, and I have the final exams in two weeks… And WHOA, there's a HUGE thunderstorm outside. As in, with possible tornadoes. So I'd better get this out quickly, before the power goes out.

By the way, the title refers to the 'little' girl introduced in this chapter. I hope you can guess who, as I'm sure you've read the summary.

* * *

Ginny Weasley had a policy about her life. It was to try something new every day. Usually it was trying a new food out, or trying out a new sport (Quidditch was still her favorite, followed by the American game of Quadpot). Today she was going out on a limb and extending her policy to include doing things that she had always wanted to do. 

It was one of the biggest decisions of her life.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. She was greeted by a burst of warm air that Ginny was grateful for, as it was rather chilly outside. She hesitated in the doorway.

_Come on and go!_ her subconscious screamed at her. _It's what you've wanted since Laura! _She winced at the mention of the little girl whom she had known long ago, but she knew her inner voice was right, she really wanted it – him or her. Besides, she had done most of the paperwork already; now all she needed to do was meet the child and do a buttload of more paperwork. That was it. She would adopt a child before the week ended.

Her feet moved of their own accord, letting the door slam shut behind her. A tired-looking woman appeared, holding a toddler on her hip.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I have an appointment for-" Ginny checked her watch, "-about five minutes ago."

"Oh! You must be the person who called while I was out. My name is Darlene Cambridge. Come on, I'll show you the kids. You can see the girl you will be adopting."

"What's her name? The description in the paperwork never said."

"What _did_ the description say?" the woman asked worriedly.

"That she had been, and I quote, 'quite a terror' ever since she was brought to the orphanage."

A wry smile appeared on the woman's face. "Yes, she rather is a little devil. She wasn't too happy about being here at all when she came six years ago, but now it seems as if she doesn't want to leave."

"And her name would be…?"

"Laura."

Ginny almost gasped, but restrained herself. Her name was Laura and she came to the orphanage six years ago. Could it be the girl she used to know?

Ms. Cambridge, oblivious to Ginny's reeling mind, led her to a room decorated in bright colors and children's paintings. There were several kids sitting around a TV and a couple children doing other things. One girl was drawing a picture.

"Laura!" Ms. Cambridge called.

"What?" the girl drawing the picture asked without taking her eyes off the drawing.

"She's here."

"Oh, goody," Ginny heard Laura mutter sarcastically. The other children looked up with interest as the girl got to her feet and walked over to Ginny and Ms. Cambridge without looking up. "Well, what do you want me to do, ma'am?"

"Looking up would be a good start," Ms. Cambridge said, bouncing the baby on her hip. Laura scowled but looked up. Ginny felt as if the floor had dropped out from under her.

"Laura," she whispered. Laura raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's my name. Got a problem with it?" Laura said snappily.

"Of course not. Laura is a beautiful name…"

"And?"

"And I think I used to know you, back before you came here."

The shocked look on Laura's face was enough for Ginny to feel guilty. Laura probably remembered nothing about her parents and she was young enough that she probably didn't have any real memories of anyone before she was handed over to the orphanage. Ms. Cambridge broke the silence.

"Well, why don't Laura and Ms. Weasley go to the meeting room where they can talk?" she suggested in a cheery voice. Ginny shrugged.

"If it's alright with Laura."

Laura nodded mutely, still looking up at Ginny as if she might not be real. The director of the orphanage led the two to a room across the hall and left, shutting the door behind them.

"Did you really know me?" Laura whispered as if dreading the answer. Ginny smiled at her.

"I think I did, yes. You must be ten now, Laura, correct?"

"Yeah. But how did you know me?"

"I knew your parents. I babysat you for them, actually. I looked a lot different then; you won't recognize me like this, and I can't change back for a while."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Laura asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Do you remember the night your parents died, Laura?" Ginny asked softly. "If you do, you might remember me."

Laura scrunched her face up in exaggerated thinking and then shook her head. "I don't remember. Were you there?"

Ginny nodded. "I was the first to see your parents after they died, aside from the person who killed them. I saved your life, actually, and then I took you back to my place, with a lot of other people. You played with my niece, Lily. Do you remember?"

"Maybe…" Laura said slowly. "You had brown hair back then, right? You said I might be magic. You were magic… Oh my God. You're her. I remember the red hair once you changed it."

"You do remember!" Ginny exclaimed. "You've grown up, Laura, you really have. I last saw when you were four… six years is a long time."

"Yes, but you still look the same." Laura's eyes narrowed. "You were the one who dropped me off, aren't you?"

"Yes," Ginny said uncomfortably.

"Why?" Laura cried. "Why did you leave me here?"

"Do you think it was easy for me to drop you off with the police, Laura? It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do."

"You could have adopted me or _something_! You're an adult! Be creative!"

"Laura, there was nothing else I could do. I tried to adopt you when you were four. They told me that there was a waiting list for a small child like you. Keeping you would be against the law and I'd get arrested as soon as I stepped outside. There was no way I could have possibly kept you with me."

Laura turned so she was facing away from Ginny. When she spoke, her voice was soft. "I always dreamed you would show up and take me away. I can't believe you're actually here…"

Ginny chuckled. "Should we go and tell Ms. Cambridge that we're going to get along?"

* * *

After all the necessary paperwork and a few more days, Ginny could finally take Laura home. Home meant a small flat in London that Ginny had rented specifically for the young Muggle girl. Laura looked around the small apartment and nodded approvingly. 

"It's nice, but I thought we'd be going to that big house," she said. Ginny laughed, surprised.

"You remember that place? We're not going there anymore," Ginny said.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a Mug- er, child. It's rather secret, and don't look at me like that; it's their rules, not mine. If I had my choice, we'd be living there. Don't worry; I'm sure my family will visit. Plus, you begin school on Monday, so you won't be bored.

"School is boring."

"Only some schools. I went to a boarding school from when I was eleven to when I was seventeen. It was very fun and exciting and stuff like that."

"Can I go there, Ginny?" Laura asked, sitting on the couch.

"We'll see when you're eleven, okay?" Ginny said, smiling at the girl. Laura heaved a sigh.

"Fine. Where do I sleep?"

"In here," Ginny said, leading the way into a room decorated with posters of bands, actors, actresses, athletes, and other celebrities. Laura smiled.

"I like."

Ginny was about to respond when the sound of a door knocking sounded from the door. Ginny ran over to the door and opened it. As expected, she was greeted by a hug and a 'how ARE you?' from her mother.

"I'm fine." Ginny looked past her mother to find the entire Weasley clan behind her. "Oh my, I'm not sure this flat is big enough for all of us, plus Laura. Some of you may have to go." She stuck her tongue out at Ron.

"Ha ha," he said. "Very mature. So, can we come in? Or are you going to keep your dear old family out in the cold?"

"You're in a hallway. It's not cold. Well, anyway, Mom, Dad, and Lily can come in…." she stuck out her tongue. "Well, come in already! The house is getting cold."

Ron rolled his eyes and walked in, followed by everyone else. "So where's this girl you adopted?" he asked.

"I'm not just 'this girl Ginny adopted,' you know. I have a name," a voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Laura in the doorway. She continued, "My name's Laura, if you're so inclined. I'm terribly sorry; I don't remember any of you." She was smirking while Ron looked confused. He looked to Ginny, as did everyone else.

"Sit down, all of you," she said. There was a scramble for chairs and the kitchen chairs were brought into the living room so almost everyone got a seat. The remaining stood.

"Okay, well, you remember six years ago, when there was that huge apartment massacre in the States? And remember that little girl I brought to the house? Well, this is her, all grown up."

There was silence all around. Then Ron laughed.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, what are the chances that you'd find the exact same girl six years later?"

"Hey," Laura said indignantly. "I take offense to that statement. Ginny found me. Is that too hard to believe?"

George groaned. "Great. We've got another Ginny."

Ginny smacked him. "You're one to talk. You and Fred are exactly alike. Anyway, why are you all here, for real now? I didn't tell you Laura was coming today."

Ron looked meaningfully at Laura and Lily. Ginny's eyes widened in understanding. "Laura, go show Lily your room. You two are cousins now, get to know each other."

The girls raised their eyebrows at Ginny, who arched an eyebrow back. Lily seemed to finally get it and whispered something in Laura's ear. The two disappeared in the direction of Laura's room. Ginny looked at the others questioningly. "I thought he was dead."

"He is," Harry said quickly. "At least, he'd better be, after what we did to that bastard… anyway, there are other wizards and witches trying to fill his place. We've had trouble with some Death Eaters, as you know. We came here to discuss a new threat."

"Oh? And who is it this time?"

"Blaise Zabini. He's been gathering power in England and France. He's been at it since you took a break to adopt Laura."

"Interesting. Ron, you owe me 10 Galleons. Oh, and why are you telling me this just now? Why not earlier?"

"I figured you were still on that break," Harry said. "If you're off of it, you can help us. If not then you take care of Laura."

"She knows nothing of magic. Well, she knows it in fairy tales and all, but not in real life. I intend to keep it that way until she's eleven. If she's magic, she'll find out, and if she's not, she deserves to know. When she's eleven, I'll be back on active duty. Her birthday is June 7th.

"So there's about five months left," Fred observed. "Well, if it's the best thing we can do, let's do it."

"Alright; shall we call Lily and Laura in?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "I imagine they're right outside the door, trying to listen in. Lucky we put silencing spells on the room and locked the door." She took out her wand and took off the spells, then quickly hid her wand. The door burst open and the two children stumbled in, falling through the door where they had been trying to listen. Ginny tried not to laugh as they straightened up with sheepish looks on their faces.

"Were you two trying to listen in?"

"No," Lily said immediately. The adults all had on similar expressions of disbelief.

"Okay, maybe we were…" Laura admitted.

"But we didn't hear anything!" Lily added quickly.

"Mmmhmm," Ginny said. "I know you didn't. Anyways, Laura, I'd better introduce you to all my family. Think you can remember all of them?"

Laura looked around at the numerous amounts of people around the room. "Try me."

"Okay. That's Ron, Fred and George, your grandparents, Lily, Harry, and Hermione. I have three more brothers that aren't here. Two of them are Bill and Charlie and the third you needn't worry about. You'll never meet him. Oh, Mum, don't cry! I didn't mean it like that!"

"I know," Mrs. Weasley hiccupped, "But it's still so hard…"

Laura looked quizzically at Ginny, who shook her head slightly. _Don't ask._ The girl changed the subject quickly.

"It's nice to meet you, everyone," she said cheerfully.

Everyone was glad for the chance of subject.

* * *

The next chapter is better, and what I have planned is fun. Let me tell you, Laura is a demon. You'll see, if I have the time to post, which I will try to get. So that's it. Ciao! Au revoir! Bye! 

Kinz


	2. Diagon Alley part 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or any related materials.

**Well… I still can't think of a good name, but I really hate "Adopt and Adapt" (no, I wasn't on crack or drunk when I named it that… just really really tired), so I'm calling it "Whatever" now. Which kind of fits, because it will be a prominent phrase in Laura's vocabulary later on.**

**Okay, so this chapter is in two parts. This chapter is 10 pages long and I'm not even done with Diagon Alley yet. Therefore, the Diagon Alley experience is split. I'm repeating myself, so on you go. **

* * *

It was months later when Ginny really sat down and thought about things. She worried about the current threat of Blaise Zabini. She reflected on the fact that she would need a job soon or else people would get suspicious about how she was getting money (she was using the book money, but nobody could know that). But most of all she thought about Laura and her future. 

Was Laura magic or not? That was the question. It was nearing Laura's eleventh birthday and there was still no clear answer. Sure, there were little things that could possibly indicate magical abilities, but there was nothing certain. There was nothing like how Hermione described her childhood, or Harry. They had shown extreme signs of magic at young ages that grew steadily stronger. Laura hadn't.

Ginny bit her thumbnail absently, lost in thought, when Laura came crashing into the apartment.

"Ginny, guess what I saw?" she exclaimed, jumping around.

"What? The winning lottery ticket?"

"Sadly, no, but I saw an owl outside! During the day, carrying something on its leg!"

Ginny was instantly alert. "What color was the owl? Was it white?"

"Nope, it was brown. Why?"

Ginny shrugged. "Just wondering." She moved to the window and opened it. "Don't ask; everything will be explained by your birthday," she said in response to Laura's confused look.

"But – hey, look!" Laura exclaimed, pointing to the window. A large tawny owl had flown in and was perched on the windowsill. Ginny broke in a huge grin.

"Hey there," she said, petting the owl on the head. The owl hooted impatiently as if it was saying, "Hurry up and take the letter; I haven't got all day." Ginny untied the letter from the owl's leg while Laura watched curiously.

"What's that?" the young girl asked.

Ginny said nothing, just stood gaping at the paper. Laura stood on tiptoes and snatched it away. It was made of a material heavier than paper. Laura turned it over to see a seal with a lion, a badger, a raven, and a snake on it. She broke the seal and opened the letter.

_Dear Miss Laura Weasley,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

At this, Laura stopped reading and glanced up at Ginny. "Is this a joke?"

"Of course not. Do you really think I could train an owl to deliver a letter? It's real. Made of parchment, if you were wondering."

Laura turned back to the letter.

_You will need…_

And it listed a bunch of objects that couldn't possibly be bought at the local department store. Toy versions, yes, maybe, but where would you find a real cauldron, or a magic wand?

"Diagon Alley," Ginny said suddenly. "We'll need to go there. It's where everything you need is sold."

"Sweet. A broomstick sounds cool. Do they sell those there too?"

"Yes," Ginny grinned. "But first years aren't allowed to have one, unless they've changed the rules. I think Harry was the only first year in a hundred years to play Quidditch when he was eleven. Everyone else had to wait."

"What's Quidditch?"

"It's only the greatest wizarding game ever," Ginny said. "Played on broomsticks. I'll explain it to you sometime. It's kind of complicated. I played it a lot growing up, only I had to sneak and do it at night. I actually got onto the team on my fourth year, after Harry got himself banned from Quidditch. I stayed on fifth year, but as a different position. I could tell you stories about us until the cows came home, and sometime I will."

"This is awesome! Wait until I tell Anna about this!" Anna was Laura's old best friend from the orphanage. Although Laura preferred not to talk about the orphanage, or any of the other homes she had been in, she couldn't just leave Anna behind without any letters. Laura had been writing to Anna periodically throughout the few months they had been gone.

"No," Ginny said firmly. "You can't tell anyone about it. Trust me."

"Why not?"

"Because. Laura, just trust me on this. I know a lot more about magic than you do."

"Fine," Laura said, making a face. "So when are we going to that Diagonal Alley place anytime soon?"

"It's called Diagon Alley, and not right now. If you remember, we were going out to eat."

Laura's face brightened. "Can we go to the crepes place?"

Ginny laughed. "Sure. Let's go so that I can tell you more when we get back. And remember, no talking about it in the restaurant."

"Agreed."

* * *

Dinner was a pleasurable affair, as both Ginny and Laura were in good moods. When they got back, Laura immediately hounded Ginny for stories and information. 

"Ginny, what did you do at Hogwarts or whatever it was called?"

"My school years weren't very spectacular, although they got better as I got older. I think what you should be asking is what Harry, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione did."

"Okay, what did they do?"

Ginny smiled. "I think that's something they should tell you. Only they can tell their story. But I can tell you about Fred and George and all the teachers at school, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Did you know that there was a curse on the DADA position while I was in school?"

"Nice," Laura commented. "Is it still on? Who started it?"

"No, I think it's over. And don't ask how; I won't answer. We'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow; it's a Saturday. I'll talk to the others and see if they'll come with us. Now, come on, sit down."

Laura obeyed and Ginny told her about Quidditch until it was well past Laura's bedtime.

* * *

Early the next morning, Laura woke up to the sound of a one-way conversation. She was wondering why Ginny would be talking to herself at five in the morning when she heard Ginny say her name, accompanied by 'magic' and 'Diagon Alley'. 

Laura crept curiously out of her room and into the living room part of the apartment. She was surprised to see Ginny kneeling on the floor with her head in the green flames of a fireplace that Laura was quite sure hadn't been there before. Ginny was talking to somebody somewhere else.

"Will you come? … oh good. Laura will be so excited… Bring whoever can come, I want her to meet some of the others she hasn't met yet… alright, we'll meet you there at ten-thirty."

Ginny pulled her head out of the fireplace and looked at Laura, grinning. "It's called Floo Powder. My brothers, Fred and George, invented False Fireplaces, which are portable fireplaces for whenever you need them. They're banned at Hogwarts. Anyway, we'll be using Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley. You've still got five and a half hours until we go, so I suggest you get some rest. Diagon Alley's a big place and I want you to be awake enough to enjoy it."

Laura yawned. "Okay." She shuffled back to her room.

Today was panning out to be a very interesting day.

* * *

Laura was far too excited to go back to sleep, so she lay in bed, imagining everything she could do in that Diagonal – sorry, _Diagon_ – Alley. She would be getting a wand! If that wasn't awesome, what was? 

When Ginny came to wake Laura up, she found Laura looking over the Hogwarts acceptance letter for the billionth time.

"Laura, eleven isn't going to come any faster if you keep looking at that."

"But it can't hurt," Laura replied. "Is it time to get up yet?"

"Yep," Ginny said. "Get dressed. We have to be there in half an hour."

"Eep!" Laura squealed, shooting out of bed and pushing Ginny out of the room, shutting the door. Ten minutes later, she came out in shorts and a T-shirt, the front of her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail while the back was let down. "'Kay, I'm ready."

"Good. Have some breakfast. You'll need your strength; Diagon Alley's a big place."

Laura rolled her eyes and scarfed down a bowl of cereal. "Can we go now?"

Ginny sighed. "Okay. We're going to be there early, but that's alright. And Laura-"

"Yes?"

"Please try and behave yourself. Don't go into Knockturn Alley. I'll know if you do. Anyway, there's going to be some fun stuff there, including getting a wand. And I'll let you know right now, you are not getting a broomstick. I don't have the money for a good one, and first years aren't allowed a broom."

"Dang, I always wanted something used to clean floors. Now you've spoiled all my fun," Laura said. Ginny laughed.

"Trust me, they're cooler than you think. Come on, let's go."

"Um, how are we getting there?" Laura asked. "Is it anywhere near?"

"No, it's kind of far away," Ginny said. "We'll Floo to the Leaky Cauldron."

"'Floo'?"

"Yep. Now throw this powder in the fire, step into it, and shout 'Diagon Alley'. Be sure to speak clearly and if you turn up in Knockturn Alley, you'll be grounded forever. And I mean it."

Laura looked warily at the fire and then at Ginny, who nodded. Laura threw the handful of shimmery powder into the fire, stepped nervously into it, and shouted "Diagon Alley" nice and clearly. Ginny repeated and when she stepped out of the fireplace, she was in a whole different place. She spotted Laura talking to Tom, the old barkeeper.

"Hello, Tom," Ginny said as she reached the two. "Nice to see you again."

"Ginny Weasley?" he said, looking surprised. "You haven't been in Diagon Alley in a long time… welcome back."

"Thank you," Ginny said, smiling. "I see you've met Laura."

"Is she your daughter?" Tom asked.

"She is now," Ginny said, and left it at that. "We're shopping for her school supplies now. First year at Hogwarts, very exciting."

"I see," the barkeeper said. "Well, I'll let you get started then. Diagon Alley's very crowded today."

"Thanks, Tom," said Ginny. "Have you seen Harry, Ron, or Hermione?"

"Yes, they went into Diagon Alley a few minutes ago."

"Thanks," Ginny repeated. "Well, Laura, we'd better get going. They're probably waiting for us. Bye, Tom."

"Goodbye, Ms. Weasley, Laura."

As Ginny and Laura left the inn through the back door, Laura asked, "What did he mean, 'you haven't been in Diagon Alley for a long time'?"

"Oh, about that. There may be other people who say that. I'll explain later," Ginny said, taking out her wand as they approached the brick wall.

"Um, OK," Laura said slowly. "And, Ginny, you do know that that's a brick wall, right? We've walked right into a dead end."

Ginny smiled. "You forget, Laura, that we are witches." She tapped the bricks with her wand in the right order, and watched Laura gasp as the bricks parted to reveal an archway to Diagon Alley.

"Wow…" Laura whispered. As they entered the crowded street, they were ambushed by a bunch of redheads, a brunette woman, and a black-haired man. Ginny grinned.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Gin," Ron said, embracing his sister. "Hey, Laura."

"Hi," Laura said, smiling at him.

Ginny and Laura said hello to everyone else, and the whole group went towards the cauldron store ("So you can carry everything in your cauldron," Ginny explained). After that, the group split up: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Laura, and Lily in one group and the others in other, smaller, groups. The large group were on their way to Flourish and Blotts when they heard a drawling voice saying, "Well, well, well. If it isn't Scarhead and his groupies."

Everybody turned around. Harry and Ron clenched their fists, Hermione looked worried, and Ginny looked annoyed. Laura and Lily just looked curious and confused.

"Malfoy, screw off," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Really, name-calling is so second-year."

"And who do we have here? The Weaslette, is it? I thought you had gone."

"I was, until you and your little Death Eater groupies forced me to return," Ginny said calmly, although inside she was screaming with anger.

Hermione turned to the children. "Lily, Laura, go to Flourish and Blotts. Lils, you know where it is."

The two children reluctantly turned and walked in the direction of the bookshop, not without a few glances back.

"So, the Weaslette has a child," Malfoy mused. "Who'd want to sleep with _you_?"

"Likewise, Malfoy," Ginny said sweetly, noticing a figure about the age of Lily standing next to Draco Malfoy. "Well, beside all the whores and sluts you slept with at Hogwarts."

"You will not insult me in front of my child!" Malfoy hissed. Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, but it's perfectly alright for you to insult me in front of mine?"

"Well, yes. You see, I am far beyond your station and command respect," Malfoy said haughtily. Hermione held Ron back, and took a precautionary grasp of Ginny's robes.

"It's OK, 'Mione. I'm not going to attack. He's not worth it," Ginny said, casting a scathing look at Malfoy. "Come on, let's go."

She turned her back and started to walk away, forgetting the one major rule of fighting: never turn your back on your enemy. A curse whistled by her ear. She whipped around.

"Malfoy, would you like to be turned into a ferret again?" Ginny asked dangerously, taking out her wand and pointing it at him. "I learned some interesting human transfiguration, you know. And I'm not afraid to use it."

"Ginny," Hermione whispered. "Ginny, come on. He's not worth it."

"Yeah, go back to your slug of a daughter, Weaslette. I still can't believe anyone would sleep with such filth as you to create such a filthy spawn."

"Now you've crossed the line, Malfoy," Ginny said angrily. "I don't care if you insult me until steam comes out of my ears, but _do not insult Laura_."

Hermione tightened her grasp on Ginny's robes, obviously afraid that Ginny would pull a Ron and launch herself at Malfoy. Harry held the back of Ron's robes, looking as though he might need somebody restraining him, too.

"Oh, and you'll do what?"

Ginny pointed her wand at him once more. "I'll make you regret it, Malfoy. You're the most pathetic creature I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, and that includes the flubberworms we had to take care of in Care of Magical Creatures class." At that moment, Hermione and Harry pulled Ginny and Ron away from Malfoy, who sneered after them. He promptly broke out in purple spots and his hair turned bright pink. He looked around for Ginny, but she was nowhere to be seen. Fuming, he Disappararated with his son before anybody else besides the crowd who had gathered to watch the fight could start laughing.

In Flourish and Blotts, Ginny was still angry, but was cracking up at her last backward look at Malfoy, complete with the spots and colored hair. Ron and Harry were fuming, and even Hermione looked angry, although she also looked relieved that they got away without being cursed.

"Did you see his face?" Ginny asked. "Oh, but Hermione, you should have let me slug him. It would have been much more satisfying that cursing him. After what he said…" Ginny stopped laughing and his face clouded over. "I'll kill him if he insults Laura again like that.'

"No you won't," Hermione said firmly. "There will be no killing of any sorts, no matter what the reason."

"Hermione, you take all the fun out of life," Ginny complained, but before Hermione could say anything, Laura and Lily appeared in front of the adults.

"What was _that_ all about?" Lily asked.

"That, children, was the reason that Ron got most of his detentions at school," Ginny said. "And Harry, for that matter. With the exception of his fifth year, in which only some were because of Malfoy. The rest were all Umbridge."

"Oh, God, don't remind me," Harry said, groaning. "I've still got scars on my hand."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"From what?" Laura asked, forgetting about the subject of Malfoy.

"From Umbridge's sadistic quill," Harry said darkly. "Come on, get your books."

"We got them already, Uncle Harry," Lily said, showing him a pile of books in her arms. There was a similar pile in Laura's arms.

"Good," Ron said. "Then we can get out of here. I think I'm allergic to all these books." He sneezed to prove his point. Hermione swatted his arm.

"Don't be stupid, Ronald. They won't hurt you. They're just books."

"Try telling that to those Monster books we had in third year," Ron said. "Those were pretty nasty. Mine bit me every time I tried to open it."

"You were supposed to stroke the binding, Ron! How many times did I have to tell you that?" Hermione asked.

"Apparently more," Harry cut in. "We still have to pay for the books, right girls?"

Lily and Laura nodded. "Yeah," Laura said. "They wouldn't take bubble gum as payment." She looked put out.

"Oh, God," Ginny groaned. "Please tell me that you didn't try to buy the books with gum."

"Don't worry, we didn't, Aunt Ginny," Lily assured her. "Laura wanted to, though."

"Did not," Laura protested.

"Did too."

"Not."

"Too!"

"OK, girls. Stop it and we'll get some ice cream on the way out," Ron promised. The girls looked at each other, smirked, and stopped immediately. Ron groaned. "Shouldn't have said that…"

"Well you did, Dad," Lily said triumphantly. "So come on, we've got to pay for these books and then we've got a date with a sundae."

"You're forgetting a couple of things," Hermione said. "We have to get Laura some robes, potions ingredients, and a wand."

"Fine," Lily said, looking disappointed. "But then we're getting ice cream."

"Deal," Ginny said. Then she squeaked as someone tickled her from behind. She spun around.

"Gred and Forge! Stop!" she choked out. The tickling abated and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nice to see you too, little sister," Fred said, messing up Ginny's hair.

"Yeah, and what's with the whole Malfoy thing?" George asked. "We heard some people talking about you and Malfoy."

"Oh, that." Ginny grimaced. "Malfoy was being an arse as always, and so we yelled at each other for a while. And then Hermione and Harry dragged Ron and I off to here."

"And the purple spots and pink hair…?" Fred prodded. "We heard about that too. Colin Creevey got a picture of it, you know."

"Really? I'll have to get a copy of that. Well, I cursed him," Ginny admitted. Then she turned to the girls. "We do not condone this type of behavior, and if any of you start cursing people, you'll be in big trouble. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lily and Laura chorused, looking as if Christmas had come early.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Laura smirked.

"What she said," Lily said, smiling innocently.

"Good." Ginny eyed them suspiciously, but left it at that.

"Well, it's time for us to take care of these two," Fred said, scooting around Ginny and lightly pushing Lily and Laura to the entrance. The girls giggled and thrust their books into their parents' hands.

"Oh no you don't!" Ginny and Hermione said at the same time.

"I'm not allowed Laura into your store," Ginny said. "She is _not_ turning into another one of you!"

"And neither is Lily!" Hermione added.

"Aww, come on, Gin, 'Mione. Don't you want your daughters to have fun? Live a little. We won't let them near the _really_ dangerous stuff."

"Come on, Ginny. Please?" Laura asked, using her puppy-dog eyes. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But I'm coming with, so you have to wait until I buy these books."

She quickly bought the books, but when she turned around, Laura and Lily were gone.

"Bloody brothers," Ginny groused before quickly walking out of the store, leaving Ron, Harry, and Hermione behind.

* * *

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